Inside Evidence & Equity: Who we are, what we're building
- Evidence & Equity
- Oct 6
- 3 min read
Evidence & Equity, LLC (E&E) began, like many great ventures, with a dedicated group of women identifying a problem and deciding to act. In an all-glass conference room in the Hammer Health Sciences building at Columbia University, wall after wall filled with notes, ideas, and strategies that would become the first business plan for E&E.
We decided there and then that there is -and always will be room for our voices in shaping a more inclusive evidence base through consultation and strategic partnerships in public health.
Insert a global pandemic, a graduation celebrated through screens, and years spent navigating industry challenges. Through it all, the mission of E&E has never faltered. Our journey has led us to this moment and this screen (unironically).
We’re thrilled to launch our newsletter!
Consider this a peek into E&E HQ, where we share the latest from our projects and partnerships and highlight the healthcare and analytics trends shaping our work.
Spotlight: Reflections from Sky on Partnering with SPHSP to Measure Impact
One of our very first projects brought us full circle to our origin story. Evidence & Equity was born at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, so it was especially meaningful that the Summer Public Health Scholars Program (SPHSP) at Columbia became one of our earliest clients.
Our relationship with SPHSP began with a simple question: how do we evaluate the program’s impact on scholars over time?
For me, Sky, this work was personally meaningful. Years ago, as a budding epidemiologist, I participated in a program similar to SPHSP on the campus of Morehouse College. My biostatistics instructor back then was none other than Vice Dean Joseph, who was our client and one of the collaborators on this project. It’s been both inspiring and nostalgic to have this full-circle moment and evaluate the program’s impact.
Together with SPHSP, we at E&E rolled up our sleeves to dig into their data and tackle the challenge of communicating the impact of years and years of valuable program activity. Government funding was on the horizon, and leadership needed clear data-driven evidence to inform decisions and showcase program participant outcomes, ultimately strengthening the case for continued financial support.
E&E partnered with SPHSP to design a sustainable infrastructure that captures program impact over time:
Alumni Survey Development - We created a comprehensive, web-based survey to collect up-to-date demographic, education, and professional data from SPHSP alumni.
Surveillance Tool Creation - We built a centralized database to house alumni data, quantify missingness, and support ongoing monitoring.
Survey Deployment - We administered the inaugural survey to recently graduated students, setting the stage for ongoing longitudinal tracking.
This partnership gave SPHSP leadership the tools to demonstrate their program's impact but also provided concrete strategies to strengthen outreach and support scholars’ journeys into graduate training and careers within the public health sector.
The stakes could not be higher; 66% of public health (PH) executives identify as White, compared to 54% of the overall PH workforce. This gap highlights a critical issue: while diverse professionals are entering the workforce, too few are advancing into executive positions. Programs like SPHSP don’t just diversify the pipeline; they ensure that future leaders reflect the communities most impacted by public health research, programs, and policy.
Trends to Watch
Let’s keep the conversation going
Coming Next Issue:
In the next issue, we’ll highlight the need to consider and proactively address the health disparities that may be perpetuated through the use of AI in healthcare delivery.
Until then, stay connected!
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